Advice on Selling Artwork (Hunter S. Thompson)

[GotToGetAway]

Hi All,

We have some artwork that just won't jive in our new home, so we are trying to sell it. We have two framed posters/lithos of Hunter S. Thompson by Thomas Benton, and a set of 4 Phish posters from New Year's Eve 2009 (which are rather collectible). Other than Ebay, does anyone know a good forum for selling artwork? If I bring it to a shop I'm limited to just selling to this area, and it may appeal more to others in different parts of the country. Is there a good website anyone knows of for selling art?

Thanks in advance!

[Florida Girl]

I used to be in the art business, and I can tell you that it's not easy to sell! I've listed many pieces on eBay that don't work in our new house and if they sell, they don't sell for much if at all. You have to make contact with someone who collects what you have. For instance, I had extremely good luck selling an original Beatles "Hard Day's Night" poster, but I haven't been able to sell my limited edition Vargas Commemoratives. Go figure.

Try Googling your particular artists and see if there are any online art dealers that specialize in selling that artist's work, you may be able to get in touch with other collectors of that artist. But be aware that if you sell to a retailer you're going to get about half of what the piece is worth. My best suggestion is eBay, or another auction site, for online, or try to find a consignment store in your area that will take them... again they take a pretty big percentage, up to 50% of the sale price, and usually you can't set the price. Everyone wants a bargain these days, so unless you have a Van Gogh or a Renoir, or something like the Blue Dog by George Rodrigue, you usually take a loss on reselling artwork.

Best of luck to you!

[GotToGetAway]

Thank you, Florida Girl, for the art insider information. I've got one piece with an offer at a good price on Ebay. I've set most of them with a reserve so at least I won't get stuck selling a piece worth thousands for $0.99. Thanks for the tip about finding the collectors! I'll start doing research now.
Boy, is there anything this forum can't do?!?!?

Thanks again!

[Florida Girl]

You're smart to set a reserve. I had something I thought was going to really sell like crazy and didn't set a reserve, and I DID end up selling it for $.99 cents!! Good luck, I hope you make some money on your artwork!